


Appearances

by paradiamond



Category: Longmire (TV)
Genre: Coming Out, F/F, Gals being pals, Wedding, clothes and appearances as thinly veiled metaphors, the feeling of having to constantly come out, the questionable lgbtq acceptance of Absaroka county, vic pov
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-13
Updated: 2017-03-13
Packaged: 2018-10-04 09:38:07
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,704
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10273922
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/paradiamond/pseuds/paradiamond
Summary: Vic and Cady have a good rhythm, one that Vic doesn’t want disrupted. With Henry’s wedding on the horizon, she has to make a choice. Turns out saying ‘I love you’ was the easy part.





	

The sun isn’t up yet, but Vic is, sitting in the chair by the vanity to put up her hair so she can go into work at this ungodly hour. 

Vic barely pays attention to what her hands are doing, too caught up with being irritated at the criminal element of Absaroka county for making her get up to care about her hair. Outside, the summer wind blows and catches the curtain, drawing Vic’s attention to the movement in the mirror, which inevitably leads her back to Cady. She’s still asleep but now curled towards the space in the bed that Vic had previously occupied. Her red hair lies fanned out across the pillow behind her, arm stretched toward where Vic should be. She looks beautiful, and warm, and especially inviting now that Vic has to leave. 

The image taunts her, and Vic briefly considers just pulling her hair back out of the ponytail and getting back into bed. Or, possibly even more satisfying, waking Cady up for having the audacity to still be asleep when Vic has to go work with her father. Vic snorts and pushes herself up from the vanity, her hand landing on the small stack of papers on the corner. She glances down at them and frowns, picking up the top one with distaste. 

“Subtle,” she murmurs to herself, turning the envelope around in her hand. It’s open, though of course that had been Cady. Vic already knew what was inside it when she got it. She glances at Cady in the mirror again. They haven’t talked about it, but the wedding invitation had migrated from the kitchen, where the mail goes, where it is supposed to _stay_ , to the bedroom, which Vic can’t think was an accident. Lucky for her, the joyful event itself still a long way out. 

Vic frowns down at it accusingly for a moment more before coming back to herself. She lets the envelope fall back onto the vanity and walks to the dresser, pulling off her nightshirt as she goes and dropping it to the floor. Cady will complain but Vic aims to be gone before she has the chance to notice. 

“Serves you right,” Vic whispers, pulling a tank top over her head and wiggling into her work jeans. She finishes getting dressed quickly, picking her jacket up from the chair in the corner. When she turns around she sees Cady watching her through half lidded eyes. 

“Hey,” Cady says, and smiles at her. 

“Hey,” Vic whispers and then realizes that she doesn’t have to. She puts a hand on her hip and talks at a normal volume. “You checking me out?”

Cady chuckles and rolls onto her side, facing Vic. “Maybe. You have to go into work?”

“Yeah, guess there was robbery last night.”

Cady hums. “Sorry.” 

“If you were really sorry you would come with me and we could get coffee before I have to deal with the general public.” 

Cady smiles. “I have to go to the rez in an hour.” She glances over at the vanity. 

“Right, ok well I’ll see you later then,” Vic grouses and turns to leave. She’s almost out the door when Cady calls out to her, and for a moment Vic is sure it’s about the invitation. 

“You missed a piece.”

Vic turns back. “What?”

Cady rises up onto her elbows. “Your hair, you missed a strand.” 

“Oh.” Vic’s hand goes to the back of her neck and feels that she did. “It doesn’t matter.”

Cady huffs. “Come here, I’ll fix it.” She sits up fully, her own hair tumbling around her shoulders. 

Vic huffs but sits down on the bed without complaining. Cady gently pulls the tie from Vic’s hair and runs her fingers through it, undoing the knots and smoothing it out, all the things Vic hadn’t bothered to do. Then she smoothly gathers it all into one hand and puts the tie back on. 

“There.” Cady presses a kiss to the side of her neck. “Now you don’t look like you just woke up.” 

“Thanks.” Vic twists around to face her, pulling her closer by the back of her head. Cady meets her halfway, tilting her head to the side so they’ll match up perfectly. It’s practiced, so familiar it lights up a spark in Vic’s chest. Vic leans in, her grip on the back of Cady’s head tightening briefly. She runs her tongue along the seam of Cady’s lips, but pulls away when she starts to open her mouth to rest their foreheads together. 

“Cady?”

Cady hums, eyes closed. 

“You haven’t brushed your teeth have you?” 

Cady rolls her eyes fondly and pushes Vic away. “When would I have done that?” 

“I don’t know, you’re pretty resourceful. Anyway if you’re not coming with me I have to go.”

Cady raises an eyebrow at her. “I’m not stopping you.” 

“Good.” Vic darts in for another kiss, successfully landing it. Cady pretends to swat at her but Vic dances away, grinning. “See you later.” 

Vic leaves in a much better mood than she had been in when she woke up. 

*

She’s sitting at the kitchen table when Cady walks in, looking like she came straight from court. Skirt, blouse, just enough makeup. Vic had seen it all before, but it never stops looking good. 

Her red hair is swept up in a bun, with just a few pieces starting to come down. When Cady wants to look professional, she puts her hair up. Vic likes it that way, but she also likes it when Cady takes her hair down for her. 

She’s so preoccupied with looking at the way Cady looks that she fails to see her coming until it’s too late. 

The next thing she knows Cady is standing in front of her, pulling it out of her bag. Vic glares at it like it had betrayed her. It was supposed to be in the kitchen drawer where she had put it two weeks ago. Vic narrows her eyes at it and turns back to her computer. “You’re carrying that around with you now?”

“No, it’s a new one,” Cady says, in her careful lawyer voice, brandishing the envelope. “Henry gave it to me because he assumed ours got lost in the mail.”

Vic tries not to wince. “Oh.” 

“Yeah, oh.” She drops it onto the table. “We’re going to have to talk about this eventually.” 

Vic takes a drink of her tea and doesn’t say anything. Neither does Cady. For now. 

*

“Ok so, I was drinking wine and online shopping a little that weekend you had to go to Montana.”

“Always a bad idea,” Vic says, nodding. They’re curled up on the couch, ostensibly doing work and house chores, but really just sitting together while the news plays in the background. “Go on.” 

“Yeah big time. Anyway,” Cady passes her a gift bag that Vic recognizes from the gift wrapping box. “I got you this.” 

Vic looks at it, dubious already. It’s not heavy, and a little rustling around of the paper reveals that it’s fabric of some kind. She hopes it’s not the ‘work pants’ that Cady has been bugging her to get, but it becomes clear almost immediately that it is not. 

“Wow,” she says when the thing has been fully revealed, and smoothes it out. “Stripper clothes.”

Cady giggles. “It’s for you, I think, for my birthday.” 

Vic laughs and hold the monstrosity of lace and laces up to the light. Some light actually shines through at the waist. “I’m guessing this is for the after party then?”

“Your guess is as good as mine.”

Vic’s smile fades. “Is this to butter me up so you can ask about Henry’s wedding again?”

Cady raises an eyebrow at her. “No, it’s not, though I do still think we need to talk about that.”

Vic groans. “No, forget I said anything, please.”

Cady looks away. “Fine, for now.”

Vic can’t help but feel bad, even though she knows that she’s right about this. They shouldn’t go. Still, Cady trying and failing to not look sad doesn’t sit well with her. “So, do you want an early birthday?” She shakes the corset for effect. 

Cady makes a face. “No, this is dumb right?”

“No, I love it,” Vic says, even though it’s kind of tacky. Very tacky. But she’s confident she could learn to love it if Cady peeled it off of her. It would look alright on the floor. 

Cady bites her lip but then breaks out in another smile. Vic smiles back. Mission accomplished. 

“Good because I also got something for me,” Cady says, voice pitched low as though someone might hear them in their own house. 

Vic perks up. That she is more excited about. “Can I see it?”

Cady shakes her head, coy now. “Not until my birthday you can’t.”

Vic hums and crawls down the couch to straddle her. “You sure about that?” 

Cady giggles and squirms away. “Yes, and I don’t want to see you in that until my birthday either.”

“What about this?” Vic asks and pulls her shirt over her head. Cady’s gaze drops straight to her breasts. Her hands fly up to Vic’s sides, just brushing along the strap of her bra. 

“This is fine.” 

There’s not a lot of talking after that. 

*

Vic lays reclined on the couch, feeling decadent with the sun on her face and Cady’s face buried between her legs. The anticipation of an orgasm is beginning to collect at the base of her spine, but it’s not the raucous urgency she’s used to in past relationships. It’s slow, building under her skin gradually. She's wearing the thing Cady had bought for her, the lace rubbing against her skin. It had been irritating, but now it's blended into the wider range of sensation, adding a rough patch to Cady’s sweetness. 

Cady’s grip tightens on the back of her knee, pushing her leg up a little further for better access. Her fingers slide deeper, brushing Vic just the right way. Vic lets herself moan, the benefit of having their own house, and feels Cady smile before she refocuses herself, paying special attention to Vic’s clit. 

Unable to resist the temptation, especially since she's allowed, Vic reaches down and slides her fingers through Cady’s hair. The strands slip through easily, silky and smooth. Cady leans into her tough slightly, humming in a way that vibrates through Vic’s core. She moans, rolling her hips up. 

Cady moves up and flickers her tongue against Vic’s clit, the repetitive motion sending electric shocks up Vic’s spine. Vic tips her head back and whines, egging Cady on. She feels the telltale tightening in her core as Cady bends her fingers, sending her over the edge. Vic rides Cady’s hand through it while Cady raises her head to watch and ease off her so she doesn't get over sensitized. 

“Nothing-” Vic stops, trying to catch her breath. “Nothing like sex in the middle of the day.” 

Vic grins and Cady smiles back, wiping at her mouth delicately. “I feel the same way.” 

“Yeah?” Vic curls her fingers and give her a little tug, urging her up. “Come here.” 

Cady moves quickly, sliding up from the floor and straight into Vic’s lap. Vic grins and leans her face away when Cady move on for a kiss, moving in closer to bite lightly at her neck instead, giving her what she knows she likes. 

“Ah.” Cady melts into her, rolling her hips into Vic's lap. 

Vic hums and does it again, pleased when Cady shivers. It had been an unexpected pleasure to learn all of Cady’s sensitive spots, one at a time over a period of months. She so responsive, more so than any partner she had ever had. Vic runs her fingers along hem of Cady’s underwear, teasing. 

Cady leans away, a mischievous glint in her eye. “Just looking?” 

Vic grins, still giddy with endorphins, and catches Cady by the back of her neck, pulling her forward. “Not a chance.” 

“Good,” Cady says, quietly, and leans in for a kiss. 

Vic closes her eyes, moving into the kiss eagerly. She can taste herself on Cady’s mouth, something which had long moved from vaguely gross to incredibly exciting. She's tightens her hand on Cady’s neck, knowing that she likes it a little hard. As if responding to her thought, Cady bites Vic’s lip, her fingers playing at Vic’s waist, skimming up to brush at her still lace clad breasts. 

Vic opens her eyes, intending to say something about it before she helps Cady out of her panties, and sees a flash at the window, someone moving away quickly. Panic grips her chest, and she jerks to sit up straight, startling Cady. 

“What-” Cady gasps, sliding off of her lap and looking around wildly. 

“There was someone there,” Vic manages as she scrambles up, throwing on Cady’s too-long fancy shirt over the corset, foregoing pants entirely and bolting for the door. 

She sees who it is as soon as she gets the door open. Furious, she marches over in his direction. “Ferguson! Stop right there!” 

Ferg jumps so badly in the car that he drops his keys. By the time he picks them up again Vic is slapping his window with her open palm, just barely fighting back the urge to use her fist. 

He stare up at her wide wide eyes as he rolls down the window two inches. “Hey, Vic.” 

Vic narrows her eyes. “Open the door.”

Ferg opens his mouth, but then closes it, his gaze drawn towards the house. Vic glances over her shoulder to see Cady make a brief appearance in the doorway, then quickly disappear. She turns back. 

Ferg waves a hand. “So, I uh- I see you’ve moved on.” 

“Excuse me?” Vic asks flatly. She could punch him. She still might. “What are you doing sneaking around our house?”

“You didn't answer your phone.”

“Oh well that's fine then!” Vic yells, furious again. She rubs her hand over her own face. Someone comes out of the house across the street, arms crossed. Vic freezes. 

Ferg leans forward, almost touching the window. “Look, I'm not going to say anything.”

Vic leans down to match him, putting them nearly face to face. “No, you're not.” 

“Yeah.” Ferg nods, but he's frowning. “It's fine.”

Vic straightens up, heart pounding a little less. “What?” 

Ferg looks away, playing with his keys. “Nothing, I just sort of thought you might have told me something like this. Sorry.” 

Vic blinks. The hair on the back of her neck stands up. Cady. Probably worried, probably watching. 

“Well,” Vic shifts her weight and tries not to feel guilty. “We haven't told anyone.” 

*

The weird thing about living with another woman is how much their clothes get all mixed together. It's mostly fine, they're pretty much the same size and shape, more or less. Of course, Vic is very aware of where they're different. She can't wear any of Cady’s dresses because they don't fit right and Cady can't wear any of her sweaters because she stretches them out, but still. They're similar enough that everything gets mixed up. 

“Cady?” Vic calls, angling her head towards the doorway. Cady is downstairs, probably too far for yelling. 

“Yeah?” 

Vic hears, faintly. She sighs and pushes herself up and away from the laundry. It's not very often that she feels the strong urge to wear her old college stuff, but it happens. 

She pads down the stairs in her pajamas. It's her Sunday off, but that doesn't necessarily mean that Walt won't call. The pajamas are a show of hope, or resistance, Vic thinks, smirking to herself as she pokes her head into the living room. No Cady, so she must be in the kitchen. 

Vic swings around to the kitchen doorway and freezes. Cady is stretching up towards the high cabinets, red hair bound up in a loose bun and the letters PENN on her back. Vic crosses her arms and settles against the doorway. Anything she had been about to ask goes away. She's not about to ask Cady about a hoodie she's currently wearing, not if she wants to wear it. Not if Vic likes seeing her in it this much. 

“You look cute,” Vic comments mildly, mostly to get Cady to turn, which she does. 

Smiling, Cady eyes herself meaningfully. “I look like a mess, but thanks.” 

“No problem.” Vic smirks and walks over. Her hand twitches up to do something, maybe tuck the stray piece that had come loose back behind her ear, maybe slide up under the hoodie, but she checks herself at the last second, which is dumb. Lucky for her, Cady is smart and she kisses Vic’s cheek before turning back around. Vic smiles and wanders over to the sink. 

“What are you making?”

“I'm just organizing.” 

Vic hums and sticks the few breakfast dishes into the dishwasher. Out of the corner of her eye, she keeps seeing Cady look at her. It makes her wonder what they might get up to today. Vic smiles and keeps pretending not to notice. She’s feeling especially soft towards Cady, all bundled up in Vic’s stuff, which is good because the next words out of Cady’s mouth are not, “We should have sex in the living room again” but are in fact, “We have to talk about Henry’s wedding.” 

Vic scowls and kicks the dishwasher shut with a snap. “Do we? That was rhetorical,” she snaps and leans back against it, crossing her arms.

Cady mirrors her, looking cute and a little ridiculous. “Yeah, we really do.” 

Vic rolls her eyes, something she knows Cady hates. “Fine. I just don’t get why you want to drag this out in front of everyone.”

Cady frowns. “Everyone who? Everyone we love? Who are parts of our lives?”

Vic gives her a dry look. “Not this part.”

“Vic,” Cady says, and it's a little too patronizing for her to reasonably be expected to deal with. Vic straightens up and walks into the living room, talking over her shoulder as she goes. Cady follows silently. 

“Why are you so hung up on this? Are you really that insecure?”

Cady blinks and stops in the middle of the room. Then she laughs. “Me? What about-” 

Vic cuts her off, another thing she knows she hates. “No, you know what? I just want to be with you, and I don't see why you're making such a big deal about this.”

Cady purses her lips and very noticeably doesn't get angry. She stares at Vic for so long that Vic’s anger starts to drain from disuse and she starts to get that crawling panic feeling on the back of her neck. Finally, Cady sighs and goes to sit on the couch, arms crossed. 

She settles herself and fixes Vic with a stern look. “So you’re saying that you don’t want to come out as my girlfriend, but you want me to be a secret and also don’t want me to see other people.”

Vic blinks. “Well I- it's not like that.”

Cady raises an eyebrow and her and Vic flushes. “Ok, I know how it sounds.”

“Bad, Vic.” Some of the harshness in Cady’s face seems to crack, leaving her looking more sad than anything else. 

“I know, but I just-”

Cady holds her hand out. It's take Vic a minutes to realize that she's supposed to take it, and when she does, Cady pulls her down to sit next to her on the couch cushions slides a hand along the back of her neck.

“We could be happy.” 

Vic winces. “I know. I want it, I just- I can’t yet.”

“People will notice if we both don’t date other people and we’re so close to each other. Eventually, they’ll see.” 

“I know, I just I can’t stand it. I’m sorry. I know it sounds crazy and possessive and-”

Cady leans forward and puts her head in her hands. Vic fold her arms tightly across her chest and glares at the room, all of Cady’s stuff all over the place and mixed up with Vic’s. 

“Maybe I should move out,” Vic says, before she thinks about it. 

Cady’s head jerks up, her hands still tangled in her hair. “What?”

Vic shifts, regretting it already. “Well-”

“That’s your solution?” Cady demands, looking truly angry for the first time. 

Vic blinks and doesn’t say anything. She doesn’t have another solution. Cady shakes her head and gets up, walks out of the room. 

Vic doesn’t try to follow. 

*

Vic sits in the driveway for twenty minutes with the engine off, just staring at the house. It’s not even her house. Cady is still technically just letting her stay there. If she wanted to she could kick Vic out as soon as she walks through the door. 

She runs a hand over her face, irritated with herself, and Cady. But mostly herself. It seems impossible, reasonably speaking, that she wouldn’t know better by now. 

“And yet here we are.” Vic mutters to herself. There’s a blur in the corner of her eye. One of the neighbors, probably. Vic shouldn’t care when they think about her sitting in her own driveway. In Cady’s driveway. 

She gets out of the car and stomps her way up to the door. 

Vic closes the door as nicely as she can, which isn’t that much, and looks around. Cady is curled up on the couch with an open file. Nervous and irritated already, Vic goes and stands in the doorway, but Cady still doesn’t look up. Vic crosses her arms over her chest and stares. She thinks about stomping off to her room like a kid or going back to the office or even moving out but she just stands there. 

Eventually, because Cady is always the first to bend, but never to break like Vic does, Cady looks up. “What are you doing?”

Vic lets her shoulders drop, feeling like a child. “I don’t know.”

Cady makes a face but uncurls her legs. “Come here.” 

For a moment, she doesn’t move. Instinct wars with insolence, but eventually Vic goes. When she gets to the couch Cady reaches over and takes her hand, pulls her down. Vic is stronger, so she could stop her if she wanted to, but she lets Cady move her around until Vic’s head is in Cady’s lap. She lets out a deep breath, hand curling around Cady’s knee. 

Cady keeps reading her file but after a few minutes she takes Vic’s hair out of her ponytail and runs her fingers through. 

“Did you make a decision?”

“Not really.” 

“Ok,” Cady says, so quietly Vic almost misses it. She stops combing through her hair. The file drops onto the table. “Vic?”

“Yeah?”

“Don’t leave.” 

Vic turns her face a little, pressing it more into Cady’s lap. “Ok.” 

Cady breathes in sharply. “Ok,” she says, at a normal volume. Vic can feel her sit up a little straighter. She sits up too, deciding that she can probably deal with looking her in the face now. Hopefully. 

Neither of them smile, and Cady doesn’t pick the file back up, but it’s alright. Vic relaxes a bit against the back of the couch. “What about you? Did you decide anything?” 

Cady hums, leaning back next to her. “Not about us.” 

Vic tilts her head, curious in spite of herself. “Yeah?” 

“Yeah,” Cady says softly, and doesn’t turn to meet Vic’s eye. “I’ve been thinking about getting a tattoo?” 

She says it likes it a question Vic is supposed to know the answer to. But it's such a random statement that Vic doesn’t even remember she has to respond for several seconds. It’s not until Cady finally does look at her that she catches up. “Oh?” 

Cady shrugs. “For my mom. Or about her, I guess.” 

Vic nods, getting herself on board. The last thing she's going to do is pick another fight. “What are you gonna get?”

Cady makes a face, finally cracking a smile for the first time since Vic came back. “I don't know.”

Vic smiles back, slightly. “Well what reminds you of her? What did she like?” 

Cady tilts her head and falls silent. Vic just stays still, waiting. It's strange, talking about mothers. Vic’s mom is alive, but she's an awful bitch so Vic doesn't bring her up much. She shifts so she's facing Cady heads on, wondering if Cady will want Vic to tell her eventually too. She winches and hopes Cady didn't catch it. 

“Flowers,” Cady says, then shakes her head. “But I'm not sure I could get a flower.”

Vic snickers, relaxing into herself in spite or her resolve to stay nice and attentive. “Where would you even put it?” 

“I don't know! You're supposed to help me.” 

Vic waves a hand. “Don't worry, I'll fulfill the girlfriend duty.” She says, not at all good naturally and then stands up to escape. She walks into the kitchen on impulse and sees a sharpie on the table. Bingo.

“Ok, here's what we’ll do,” Vic says and she walk back in the room. Cady hasn't moved. She arches an eyebrow at her when she sits, looking freakishly like Henry. Vic pretends not to notice any of it. 

She brandishes the sharpie. “I’ll draw on you, so you can see what it's going to look like.” 

“Really? You think it's going to look the same?” Cady’s lips twitch and then she's doubled over, laughing. 

Vic rolls her eyes but can't keep from grinning. “Ok, probably not, so don't pick anything complicated.” 

Cady straightens, wiping at her eyes with the back of her hand. “Ok, sure.”

“So?” Vic wiggles the marker in between her fingers. “What’ll it be?” 

Cady studies her in silence for a long second and then leans in, presses a short kiss to Vic’s lips before settling back. “Surprise me. _Girlfriend_.”

Vic glares, her cheeks still a little pink. “I knew you were going to say that,” she says, even though she didn't. She thought she was going to have to draw a flower. “But you tell me where.”

“Shoulder,” Cady replies, right away. 

Vic's eyebrows fly up. “You have been thinking about this.” 

Cady just nods and strips off her shirt, turning sideways so Vic has space. She shifts forward, touching the empty space lightly, trying to imagine what should go there. 

“You won't be able to see it.” 

“No, but I'll know it's there.”

“True,” Vic says, a little intimidated. She really can't draw. She bites the end of the pen, glancing around the room for inspiration. It's mostly just filled with Cady’s work files. Names, dates, addresses. Vic tilts her head. 

“What's your mom’s birthday?” 

Cady is quiet for a long moment. Then she turns her head. “March 3rd, 1962.” 

Vic nods and pokes her in the cheek with the chewed end of the pen. “Face front, like a haircut.” 

Cady giggles, which helps the mood somewhat. “Yes, officer.”

Vic smiles and decides on the left shoulder. Cady only calls her that when they're ok, so they must be ok. She writes the date 3•3•62 before she can over think her writing, so it turns out ok. 

“There,” she says, and catches Cady’s hand coming back before she can touch it. “Hey careful, it's not actually a tattoo.” 

Cady wiggles her fingers, so Vic lets go. “True. I'll go look instead.” 

Vic follows Cady into the bedroom, nervous and pleased. She watches intently as Cady inspects herself, twisting around to see the backwards image. 

“This is good.” Cady nods at herself. 

“Thanks,” Vic says before she can stop herself. 

Cady turns around and smiles at her. “Thanks back.” 

Vic crosses her arms against her chest. “So are you gonna get something?”

Cady glances back at the mirror. “Maybe.” She turns and pulls another shirt out of her dresser, pressed up against Vic’s. She slips it over her head, and the loss of seeing her face hits Vic like a ton of bricks in the split second it's gone. Then she back, still smiling. “Probably.” 

Vic nods, still looking at her. “You’ll look different.” 

It's a ridiculous thing to say, since the only difference is under the shirt, but Cady nods. 

“I feel different.”

Vic nods back, crushing her arms in a little closer to her chest and staring at Cady. She's shockingly beautiful, and still looking at Vic, still here when Vic almost didn't come inside the house. 

Vic makes herself uncross her arms to run a hand through her hair. “You want to go to this wedding?” 

Cady blinks. “Yes.”

“Ok.” 

*

In Vic’s opinion, saying yes should have been the end of it. Of course, things are never that simple, and that’s especially true with weddings. Her fingers brush over a soft white gown, hovering before moving away. Obviously no plain white for weddings. 

“Why do we even need special dresses? We're not bridesmaids,” she grouses, frowning down at the rack in front of her. The sight of the rows and rows of dresses doesn’t bother her the way it used to, back when she was gangly and awkward and not yet ready to admit that she might be attracted to women. Now she just finds it all vaguely overwhelming, and tedious. 

Cady raises an eyebrow at her. “It's still a special occasion.” 

Vic hums and resolutely doesn't comment. It’s not really a special occasion for her. But she's been good for days now, despite the worry crawling over her skin and the secret smiles Henry keeps sending her whenever they're in the same room. It's infuriating, which make it all the more alarming that this is somehow preferable to the alternative. She rolls her shoulders and picks out a dress at random. 

“That's not bad,” Cady comments mildly, already holding three in her arms. 

Vic looks down at it for the first time. It is technically a white, but it has a repeating pattern of pink and red triangles all over it. “I guess not.” She holds it up higher. “Think we have a winner?”

“Well you have to try it first.” Cady smiles and shakes her head, her hair swinging back and forth, brushing her shoulders. Vic smiles back. 

“So be it.” She says darkly, overly dramatic on purpose. Cady rolls her eyes and flips her own dress selections over her shoulder to put her hand in her hip. 

“Oh stop, you'll look great no matter what you wear.” 

Vic rolls her eyes back but turns toward the changing rooms to hide the fact that her cheeks are red. 

*

“Are you enjoying your living doll?” Vic mutters, trying not to move her head. Cady hums and slides another pin into place. As it turns out, Cady likes dressing Vic up about as much as Vic couldn’t care less about it. 

“Please,” Cady admonishes, giving her a long look in the mirror. “You complain but you like be taken care of sometimes.” 

Vic feels heat creep up her neck and onto her face. Cady smirks at her in the mirror but doesn't comment on it. Grateful, Vic looks at her nails instead. Color coded to match the dress. “No one is gonna recognize me.” 

“Sure they will, you just don't want them too.”

Vic looks up. “That's not true.” She stares until Cady meets her gaze in the mirror. Cady smiles, and for the first time Vic realizes that she might be nervous about this too. But then Cady blinks and refocuses on her work. 

“Besides,” Cady leans away to look at Vic’s hair from a slightly different perspective. “I never really got to do this, I never had a sister.”

Vic puts on a face. “Well I hope that's not how you think of me.” 

Cady freezes and then laughs, full bodied and loud. It startles Vic, but then she laughs too, curling a hand over her mouth and shaking. Cady’s forehead collides with Vic’s shoulder for a moment before Cady straightens up again, still smiling. 

Vic grins back, and can't resist turning around. “Anyway, I did have a sister, and we never played dress up like this, so it's not all it's cracked up to be.” 

“You were cheated.” 

“Damn right.” 

Cady hums and turns Vic back around, turning her attention back to her hair. She gathers it all up for the third time and twists it up and into a bun, eyeing it critically in the mirror and then from the back before letting it drop again. Vic bites the inside of her mouth and stays quiet. The perfectionism is irritating, but not as much as the indifference that most of her past partners have shown to her. It’s somehow easier to relax as Cady strives for the perfect bun than it is just doing it herself and wondering if the boyfriend, or husband, will even notice. 

In the mirror, she can see their dresses hanging in the closet. The white patterned one contrasting sharply with Cady’s black. They’re both just a little racy and inappropriate for the occasion, which Vic suspects is unconsciously intentional on Cady’s part. Give the mob something else to talk about. 

She looks away, back at herself, and sees Cady smiling down at her fourth version of the very elegant hairstyle. Vic perks up. “All done?”

“Yeah, do you like it?” Cady asks, her own hair already done and properly fluffed to perfection, brushing her shoulders enticingly. 

Vic nods enthusiastically. “Yeah, looks great.” 

Cady rolls her eyes and turns away, but not before Vic sees her pleased smile. “Good. Now, dresses.” 

“Great,” Vic says, hopping up and following behind, casting a look at Cady’s barely dressed form and desperately wishing they could just stay home. “Oh yeah, and on a scale of one to getting fired how inappropriate is it to pre-game your boss's best friend’s wedding?” 

Cady sends her a fake glare and hands the offending garment over. “Very.” 

“Don’t tell me you’re not tempted.” 

“I never would. For me it’s my godfather’s wedding,” Cady says, suddenly stepping into her space and pressing a light kiss on her lips. She steps away before Vic can really respond and do something unforgivable like ruin their makeup, a glint in her eye. 

“So if I’m good tonight, do I get rewarded?” Vic calls after her, smirking. 

Cady turns back around, a little wide eyed. “Uh, maybe.” 

“Hm.” Vic turns her attention to the dress, sliding the zipper down before she slips it off the hanger. “What if I’m bad?” 

Cady snorts, but spots of color appear high on her cheeks. Vic grins and steps into the dress, resolving to be very, very good. Joking aside, she knows that Cady won’t touch her for a long time if she intentionally messes this up for them. 

“Zip me up?”

“Sure,” Cady smiles over at her. “Return the favor?” 

Vic rolls her eyes and zips Cady’s dress, despite the fact that it zips on the side. Cady snickers and steps around to Vic’s back, running her hands lightly along Vic’s sides before she carefully zips up the dress, molding it to Vic’s skin. She shivers. 

“How do I look?” she asks, glancing over her shoulder. Cady is fussing with her hair, looking at the mirror. 

“Good.” 

Vic smiles and turns to find her coat. 

*

The wedding is actually pretty ok. Henry and May seem scary happy, the look of two people who finally decided jump and landed on their feet. Walt is Henry’s best man, clearly uncomfortable but determined throughout the entire ceremony. 

Drink in hand, Vic looks out at the crowd. It’s pretty decent, and the music isn't bad. It’s like every wedding reception she’s ever been to, actually. Vic tries to have a good time, but it just feels like she's at work, constantly waiting for the next shot aimed at her. Cady sits next to her the whole time, a bit stiff as well, but when Vic glances over at her expression she looks calm. 

The reception is in the great ballroom of the casino, something that Walt is thankfully keeping his mouth shut about, no doubt as a favor to Henry. Still, he has that shifty look he gets when he’s suspicious. Usually, when not on a date with his daughter, Vic would go over to him, maybe poke fun. Today, she stays put, determined not to mess anything up. It’s exhausting. 

“Want another drink?” Cady asks, voice raised a bit over the music. 

Vic glances down at her full glass. “Uh, sure.” 

She leaves her glass on the table and stands up, quietly following behind Cady as she weaves them through the clusters of people. Every time someone glances her way, Vic tenses, but they inevitably look away again, the interest fading. When they get to the bar, Vic checks to make sure no one is watching and then leans in, close to Cady’s ear. 

“This isn’t so bad.” 

Cady glances over at her, smiling slightly. “I told you.” 

“I know,” Vic says, tossing a dollar into the tip jar as the bartender slides her another glass. “You’re the smart one, I’m the muscle.” 

Cady shakes her head, but doesn’t smile again. She takes a delicate sip of her drink, looking a little off for someone who is finally getting what they’ve wanted for months. Vic frowns and looks away, off into the crowd. Henry and May are being monopolized by a swarm of what Vic assumes are May’s relatives, all smiling and talking at once. They radiate happiness, drawn in by the newlyweds, Henry with his arm wrapped around May’s shoulders, casual but firm. Vic tilts her head and scans the room. Ferg is there with his girlfriend, dancing. Mathias is near the door with his much younger and gorgeous date, an arm wrapped around her waist. 

Vic frowns and looks at her own date. There’s a about a foot of space between Vic and Cady. she shakes her head, irritated at herself for not noticing before. It had been easy all night because no one really realizes that they're together. She sighs and downs her drink. All that hype for nothing. It would be disappointing if it wasn't such a relief. 

She turns back to say something along those lines to Cady, but stops when she sees her watching the couples dancing and kissing and being together in public. There’s barely disguised longing in her eyes, though her face might as well have been carved from stone. Vic curls her hand into a fist, letting the nails bite into her palm for a brief moment before letting it go. 

“Alright.” Vic pushes away from the bar. She holds out her hand, palm up. “Come on.”

Cady blinks at her. “What?”

“Do you want to dance?” 

Cady glances around, suddenly unsure. “Do you think we’ll be causing too much of a scene-”

“I think that Henry wouldn’t have invited us together if he wasn’t ok with us being together at his wedding.” 

Cady smiles and takes her hand, letting Vic pull her to the dance floor. They’re playing some song that Vic doesn’t recognize and she suspects Henry had no say in, an upbeat number with completely indistinguishable lyrics. Ferg and his girlfriend dance past them, smiling. Strangers glance at them. It’s pretty uncomfortable, and Vic’s feet hurt. She keeps going. 

The song changes to something from the eighties, and then from the seventies. It isn’t until four songs later that Vic spins Cady around at the end of Africa by Toto and hears the beginning of a slow song. A palpable change moves over the room, and Vic sees no less than three pairs of eyes turn their way, openly watching. Cady resolutely ignores them, so Vic follows suit. 

They step in close, a smile playing at the corner of Cady’s lips and at least one glare aimed at them both over her shoulder. Vic slides her hand over Cady’s hip, middle school respectable still, and takes a breath for the plunge. 

“May I cut in?”

Vic turns and sees Jacob Nighthorse standing behind her with his hand out. She blinks at him then glances at Cady helplessly. “Uh...we were sort of-” 

“Making a statement?” He smiles, and Cady huffs out a short laugh, comfortable around Nighthorse in a way that Vic had never understood. “I have it on good authority that this won’t be the last slow song, and I need to take my leave soon. So?”

Vic glances at Cady again, who nods and lets her go, putting her hand in Nighthorses’ and stepping away. Vic watches them drift away, doing more low talking than dancing, feeling ridiculous. 

“Nighthorse steal your girl?” 

Vic spins around so fast that she almost trips in her dumb shoes. Lucky for her Henry catches her, grinning like he’d told the funniest joke in the world and clearly a little tipsy. “Careful.” 

Vic glares at him, but can’t maintain it for long. “Never say that again.” 

He quirks an eyebrow at her. “Is that not what happened?” 

Vic rolls her eyes. “I don’t even know what’s happening _now_ , are we dancing or just standing here?”

Henry shakes his head fondly and moves his hand to her waist, rocking them back and forth. Vic puts her hands on his shoulders, feeling defiant and maybe having a little fun. Maybe. 

“Where’s May?”

“Dancing with her uncle last time I checked, one of them anyway.”

“A lot to get through?” 

“So many.” 

“That’s what happens when you date the most popular girl in school,” Vic says, and then wonders why. Luckily Henry is tipsy enough to find it funny. 

“It is reminiscent of a school dance, I will admit to that.” 

“It’s the streamers.” 

“I like streamers,” Henry says, his chin high. Then he lowers it, abruptly serious. “I wanted to thank you for coming, I didn’t get a chance before.” 

Vic looks away, trying to spot Cady. “Of course.” 

“It was not an ‘of course’ from what I hear. I appreciate the effort.” 

Vic just nods, incapable of more. She doesn’t want to talk about it anymore, not with him and not even with Cady. There’s nothing else that needs to be discussed, no plans, no declarations. Henry doesn’t think like her though. 

“Are you alright?”

Vic gives him a withering look, tired of walking on eggshells. “I’m fine. I just want to dance with my girlfriend like a goddamn adult and not worry about it anymore.” 

Henry’s eyebrows fly up and Vic feel the momentary and horrible urge to apologize. They move in silence, Henry radiating amusement as she avoids his eyes and resists the urge to step on his foot. Mercifully, the song ends soon after. 

Vic takes a step back, looking around for Cady, but Henry follows, keeping them close. She frowns at him. “Look-” 

“I apologize for teasing you,” he says, serious in that overwhelmingly sincere way of his. “I’m genuinely grateful that you’ve chosen to do this for my goddaughter. She deserves this, and you deserve it too.” 

Then he steps away, leaving Vic blinking at his back. Her brain catches up with her a moment later and she calls out, uncaring of the people around her. “Thanks!” 

Henry waves over his shoulder, not looking back. Vic grins at him and turns around, almost walking into Cady. She blinks, then smiles. “Hey.”

Cady raises an eyebrow at her, the gesture so clearly Henry’s that Vic laughs. Cady laughs too, catching it. “Wow. How good of a dancer is he?” 

Vic shrugs and steps forward, putting her arms back around Cady, who steps closer right away. “I didn’t notice. I think he thanked me for dating you.” 

“Oh my god.” Cady looks up at the ceiling, her cheeks a little red. They’re still standing in the middle of the dance floor, touching but not moving. “I knew he was going to do something like that.” 

“It was fine. What did Jacob want?” 

Cady’s blush deepens. “To tell me he was happy for me,” she says, almost at a whisper. 

Vic just nods. “Me too.” 

Then she rolls up on the balls of her feet the few familiar inches needed to put them at the same level, and kisses her. Cady lets out a soft breath of surprise, but then her hands grip at Vic’s shoulders, drawing her closer. They keep in mostly chaste, but it lasts for what seems like a long time. Nearby, Vic hears whispers. Someone else claps, probably Ferg. Vic can handle it. 

They pull away, Cady looking even more flushed. Vic feels the same. Her hands tighten on Cady’s hips. “Ok?” 

“Yeah.” Cady nods. “Actually, let’s go outside?” 

“Sure.” Vic nods, grateful to not be the one to suggest it. They find their way out, ignoring the range of glares and smiles. The only one Vic spares a glance for is Walt, who seems unmoved. He nods at her and goes back to his conversation with Henry, who hasn’t even looked up. 

“Seems fine,” Cady says, under her breath. 

Vic shrugs as they make it through the door and out into the wide back lawn. “Doesn’t matter.” 

There are a few other couples outside with them, all too caught up in their own worlds to pay them any mind. They walk until they find a low wall to lean against. Vic looks up, wondering how it had gotten so late so fast. 

Cady’s hair had frizzed up a bit, breaking through her carefully constructed order. It was curling slightly, just brushing her shoulders. Vic itches to touch it, so she does, wrapping her fingers in the soft red strands. Cady just hums, unconcerned. 

“I like the way you look tonight,” Vic says, just because she can. 

Cady glances over, her gaze moving from the top of Vic’s over the top hair to the toes of her dumb pinching shoes. She smiles, stepping closer so that there’s no more space in a way she never would have done before, and Vic doesn’t back up. 

“Me too. I like the way we look together.”


End file.
